Eliciting Employee Input Effectively: The Pros and Cons of Self-Reviews

Jul 3, 2008

For decades, the “unilateral” performance review held sway
as the dominant model for HR practitioners and personnel managers in North America. In this approach, a single reviewer – usually
a direct supervisor – provided the sole source of data in the performance
review process.

Over the years, the theories behind performance reviews
evolved, and as a result, the process gradually became a bit more democratic
and multi-dimensional. The most popular outcome of this was the trend of
360-degree reviews, in which peers, subordinates, supervisors, and in some
cases, even customers all provided feedback on each employee’s performance.

Meeting in the Middle with Employee Self-Reviews

Although some companies still use 360-degree reviews, many
others who initially bought into the concept have since returned to a more
streamlined approach. Some organizations simply found themselves swamped by too
much information and no clear idea how to make the best use of it.

While the 360-degree model might be excessive for some
companies, a pared-down approach to performance reviews that still considers
multiple sources of information has emerged as a happy medium. By asking
employees themselves to participate in their own review process, you can add
another valuable perspective to the evaluation and work together to formulate
more effective plans for future development and improvement. Learn how to get
the most out of employee self-reviews with these simple tips.

Schedule self-reviews
before traditional evaluations.

Ideally, your employee’s self-review will
inform your evaluation of them, rather than the other way around. Scheduling
the self-review before the traditional performance evaluation serves two purposes:
first, you’ll be more likely to elicit honest answers if they kick off the
process, and second, you can factor their answers into your evaluation.

Make it a take-home
test, not a pop quiz.

One common mistake that’s made among companies that
administer employee self-reviews is allotting too little time to complete the
process. Don’t hand employees a pencil and leave them alone in your office with
a questionnaire to fill out in half an hour. Instead, explain the process and
then give them anywhere from a few days to a week to complete it in the comfort
of their own home. That way, you’ll be much more likely to elicit deeply
reflective, personally meaningful responses, rather than dashed-off two-word
replies.

Ask them to be
honest…and mean it.

When you’re explaining the self-review process to your
employee, be sure to ask them to answer as fully and as honestly as possible.
Studies have shown that the usefulness of employee self-reviews increases if
they feel free to express themselves fully without fear of reprisal. There’s
just one catch: if you ask for honesty, be sure that you’re really prepared for
it! There’s no guarantee that everything your employee will have to say will be
pleasant.

Use their answers to
kick off a dialogue.

Once you’ve got the completed self-review in your
hands, make full use of the information. If there’s anything you don’t
understand or that you disagree with, ask for clarification. Ideally, you’ll be
able to set aside time during the traditional evaluation to specifically address
any issues or concerns that they raise in their self-review.

Take a cue from their
responses to formulate future goals.

As a manager, you probably operate
under a fairly traditional set of assumptions when it comes to defining
professional success and helping to chart a course for your employees’ career
path. However, a closer look at their self-review responses may reveal that
your employees have drastically different ideas and ambitions. Be sure to take
their input into careful consideration when you develop their targeted goals
for improvement and advancement during the next review period.

Performance evaluation gurus say that you’ll likely get out
of the self-review process exactly what you put into it. If you set aside
adequate time, ask for (and graciously respond to) honest answers, and take
employees’ input seriously, you’ll be able to make the most of this approach
and the information it provides.